


Silva's Bingo Bash

by Silvamoon



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Bad Things Happen Bingo, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Kidnapping, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Relationships, Team Bonding, Touch-Starved, Touch-Starved Keith (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-01
Updated: 2018-12-04
Packaged: 2019-08-13 22:06:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16480628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silvamoon/pseuds/Silvamoon
Summary: Short stories from my Bad Things Happen Bingo 2018 card. Most stories will be gen/plat, with some possible Klance. Any ship chapters will be indicated. Most all will be fluff and angst, probably more fluff. I'm practicing.Chapter 1 - Caught in the coldChapter 2 - I have your loved one





	1. Caught in the Cold

**Author's Note:**

> Caught in the cold prompt. I mostly just wanted to use this as an excuse for Keith cuddling :D So angst level is super mild.

_“All Paladins come to the Bridge immediately.”_

Lance didn’t even jump at the announcement, only yawning before getting up and stumbling towards the Bridge. He thought he would be used to these morning summonings by now, but apparently a few weeks of fighting aliens and being blasted off into space while piloting a giant robot lion, simply wasn’t enough adjustment time. Although all the others were already gather. It was still too early to be awake...

“Good morning Paladins,” Allura started speaking as he entered.  Oh he must not be too late then, no negative remarks. So maybe he was getting better at this, he had even remembered to put on his armor.

“As you all know, the Castle suffered heavy damage recently, and due to circumstances, we haven’t yet had chance for repairs,” she continued.

_Yeah, getting blown up would do that. Oh and the whole Balmera shenanigans._ He tried not to remember too much of either incident.

“But now is a perfect time for us to rebuild and restock.”

“What can we do to help?” Shiro asked.

Allura nodded and motioned to her advisor, “Coran? If you would explain.”

“Righto!” He brought up a projection of the Castle Ship’s blueprints. “Well quite a few of the repairs can be managed with what we have on hand here. I’ll be needing Number Two and Number Five to give me a hand in these sectors.” He highlighted the areas.

Pidge gleamed “Oh! I can’t wait to get my hands on that tech.”

“And so you shall.” He twirled his mustache. “Now, Number One, you and the Princess will be heading to the nearby planet, Axtan. She’ll direct you to what materials we’ll need.”

Shiro simply nodded at the information. Lucky guy, getting to be all alone with Allura. Wait...that meant... Lance felt a moment of dread as he did some quick math. “Oh no! Don’t tell me I’m going to be stuck with Keith…”  
  
The mentioned Paladin glared at him, obviously unhappy with the pairing too.

“Alright then, I won’t.” Coran paid no mind to the complaint. “But I do need to tell you two what you will be doing.”

And so Lance listened half-heartedly to the details of having to go to another nearby planet to retrieve some type of plant, with Keith. Gathering vegetation didn’t sound exciting at all, even if it was supposedly an absolute necessity--turning into a sort of metallic glue when mashed up. But there was no time to argue about trading partners, they had a varga to prepare and then they would get started.

Lance grabbed some breakfast and immediately went to find Hunk, who was busy organizing a set of weird tools.

“He’s gonna kill me.” He groaned loudly.

“Huh? Who is?” Hunk looked up.

“Keith of course!” Lance threw up his hands.

“Oh. Look Lance, I highly doubt he’s going to do that.”

“But he hates me, and we’re going to be down there for who knows how long!”

“He doesn’t hate you. Maybe this’ll be a good thing? Team bonding and all?” Hunk tried to be reassuring.

Lance winced at the word, remembering a shouting _‘We had a bonding moment!’_ Nope, he was not going to go there, not uh. “More like we’ll end up annoying each other, and I go missing in a ‘mysterious’ accident.” He emphasized his point with raised finger quotes.

Hunk smiled and put a hand on his shoulder. “You’re worrying worse than me, and I do a lot of worrying. Like, I fill the ‘Paladin Weekly Worry quota’, or something. There’s just so much that can go wrong; black holes, rifts, meteors…” he trailed off, realizing that this was not helping. “But! Death by team member is not on the list.”

“At all?” Lance asked hopefully. “Remember this is Keith we’re talking about. Mr. Act First, Think Later.”

“I’m like 90 percent sure?” Hunk made an estimated guess before noting Lance’s returning look of panic. “Oh no! Uh… It’s more likely that he’ll rush off and get himself into trouble,” he quickly added.

That was pretty true and if it did happen… “--That means, I’ll have to save him and then he’ll owe me! That’s great! Thanks Hunk.” He patted the Yellow Paladin’s shoulder, turning and walking off with a smile.

“Um...that’s not really what I was trying to say, but you’re welcome?” Hunk replied, even though Lance was already not listening.

The thought of saving Keith’s stupid butt buoyed Lance the rest of the way to the hangar. The idea was brilliant, and he’s surprised he didn’t consider it before. Thank you, Hunk. Not that he actually wanted anything serious to happen, but something small would be just the thing to wipe the smug smirk off the Red Paladin’s face. Lance kept smiling, even as he settled into Blue’s seat.

“I wonder what he would say,” he mused. “ _‘Oh, Lance, you have my eternal respect and gratitude.’_ Or maybe he’d get me a present.” He grinned, but quickly furrowed his forehead at the idea. “Nah. I can’t see him being any good at that. Probably would put a bow around a rock and call it a gift.”

“Who are you talking to?” Keith’s voice cut through the coms.

“Hiiii!!” Lance screeched “No one! Uh… How much did you hear?”

“Something about a rock.”

“Oh that. I was just wondering how you must have rocks for brains.”

“At least I have one.”

Lance sputtered. He could practically hear Keith shrugging off the insult. “Well you…!”

“Yeah?”

Before he could make his totally awesome comeback, they were interrupted by an annoyed looking Allura popping up on the view screens. “If you two are quite finished, I wanted to inform you two that we have arrived at the designated sector. I’m opening the hangar doors now, and you have permission to depart at any time. Please try to get along…”

“No problemo, Princess. Just tell that to hot head here.” He saluted as Red rushed past him. “Hey!” He started getting his Lion to move.

While Blue could by no means match the Red Lion’s speed, his girl could still keep up pretty well. As soon as she left the hangar, he could see Red hovering just in front of their destination. The planet didn’t look very remarkable. It was on the largish side, and primarily pale green; one lopsided ring hanging over it. There were a few small grey orbs drifting nearby, possibly small neighboring planets or moons.

Red waited before darting down to the surface and Lance followed shortly afterwards. The ground was thick with plants. So many in fact that they had a difficult time finding a landing spot large enough to accommodate the Lions. Eventually they settled in a clearing next to a towering forest and disembarked. He took in an amazed breath. He couldn’t even make out the tops of the trees, they were huge and as thick as some redwoods, if not more. ‘Course that was the only tree-like thing about them. They had long, green trailing tendrils, while the ‘trunks’ were more like a stacked mass of jelly that looked way too flimsy to support the weight of the whole thing. He gave one an experimental poke and watched the spreading quiver travel upwards until it left his sight.

The place was weird, and...hot. The steamy humidity hit him within moments and soon he was sweltering, even with their suits’ temperature regulators. He couldn’t take it.

“Pwah!” Off came the helmet, and he immediately felt better as a breeze hit his face.

He noticed Keith doing the same and couldn’t resist making a jab, “Hah. Can’t take the heat?”

“Not this type.” Keith wrinkled his nose.

“Hmm. So plant thing. We can just grab and go, right?”

Keith hit a button on his armor and a digital screen popped up. “We have to go through there.” He pointed straight towards the forest.

“Yeah, course we do. Well lead the way.”

Lance had really been expecting a short trip, but after what felt like hours of walking, they still weren’t any closer to the location. Keith had the hardest job of using his bayard to slice a path through the vegetation.

“Don’t you think it’s quiet here?” Lance asked, starting to get bored.

“It was until you started talking.” Keith panted.

“Hey! I’m serious. I thought there would be animals all over the place, but nadda.”

Keith paused to catch his breath, “They could be nocturnal.”

“What? All of them?” He nearly scoffed, that was just so impossible.

“I don’t know, yes!? Or maybe the whole planet is nothing but these damn plants!” He huffed, slicing through a particularly tough leaf.

“Oh maybe. And having some trouble up there?” Lance smirked.

“Offering to actually help?”

“Sure! Just let me borrow that knife of yours.”

“No.”

“Have it your way.” Lance shrugged. “Then I’ll just keep playing lookout and keeping you company.”

“Great,” Keith commented dryly.

“I knew you appreciated my awesome stories.” He grinned and filled up the time with random stories about his family, places he missed going, and what he planned to do when he got back. He thought for sure Keith was going to get frustrated and tell him to shut up, but he didn’t complain at all. Between the chopping and huffing, Lance swore he even heard him humming thoughtfully, like he was actually listening. Huh. Space was just full of surprises.

“It’s getting dark,” Keith commented.

“Wha?” Lance snapped out of the midst of his recent story, noticing how the minimal sunlight did seem to be a bit dimmer. “Oh yeah it is...wait! We’re still not at that plant yet!? How much further?”

“We should reach it early tomorrow, but we need to rest.”

“You mean we’re having an impromptu sleepover...here?” Lance cringed at the thought of sleeping on the ground.

“It’s too far to go back to the lions. Come on.”

Keith started walking, insistent on dragging Lance around more to supposedly find an encampment area. All Lance saw were trees and more trees, while a gradual chill started to set in. He shivered and complained, “This spot looks exactly like the other three we stopped at!”

“I know! I just...thought there had to be something with better protection. We’re still too exposed.”

“Well the only other option is climbing one of those weird trees, and don’t even think about that.”

Keith crossed his arms, tapping his fingers. “I wasn’t.”

“Good, because I doubt they could support us, and they’re all sticky, and… What are you doing to that poor plant!?”

Keith ignored him, in the middle of savagely slicing through the bottom of a large leafy pod. He pulled it free with a distant snap and tossed it in front of Lance. “Bedding.”

Lance stared at it, reality dawning on him. “Here?”

“There’s no other shelter,” Keith grunted, working on cutting off another leaf.

“This...sucks.” He toed the ‘blanket’, it didn’t look very thick.

“Yeah...well.” _Snap!_ The new leaf landed on top of the other with a thud. “It’s all we got, and our suits should protect us from the worst of it.”

Lance still felt pretty doubtful, but sat on top of the one leaf. Luckily, they had some rations and water from the Lions, so no need to worry about that. They ate in silence, Lance trying not to think about the noticeably dropping temperatures. They could do this. Or so he thought… he managed to last until the sun set. Then it felt like the cold cut through everything, including  their suits and plant coverings.

“I’m freezing! Aren’t you cold?” Lance huddled in on himself, trying to pull the leaf blanket closer.

“M' fine,” Keith replied.

Lance glanced over. He couldn’t see Keith’s face--having turned on his side away from Lance--but he could definitely see the small shivers that wracked his body.  
“You’re obviously not fine.” He pointed out.

“So…?”

“So we’re doing this. Big spoon or little spoon.”

“...”

“Look I know you don’t like being touched, but I don’t want to end up as a Lance-sicle. I’m being generous in letting you pick cuddle position.”  

There was another drawn out moment of silence before Keith replied, “I don’t care.”

“Ok...guess that’s a yes.” He turned, starting to reach over, but paused. “You aren’t going to freak out and hit me in your sleep. Are you?”

Keith made an annoyed sound.

“What? I need an answer!”

“Let’s just get this over with.”

“Not exactly making me feel all warm and cozy here…” He sighed. Geez, Keith could be so difficult at times. They didn’t have much of a choice though. He scooched closer and stretched to drape his arms over Keith, silently praying he wouldn’t get murdered for this. To his surprise, Keith slowly relaxed into the hold, and soon seemed completely content. What the cheese… Ok this was fine, just two paladins spooning for warmth. He tried not to think too much and gradually drifted off to sleep.

* * *

 

Lance slowly stirred as the morning light hit his closed eyelids, causing him to squint in annoyance. He grumbled and tried to roll away from the rays, only to realize he was wedged; a weight keeping him in place.

“Mm?”  He blinked a bleary eye open, trying to spot the problem. He nearly stopped breathing. Keith was firmly pressed into his chest, arms stretched across to effectively lock Lance in place, like he had become the Red Paladin’s personal body pillow.

“Uh...Keith,” he hissed, trying to wake him.

“Hmm?” Keith mumbled and shifted to nuzzle into Lance’s neck.

“Keith!” His voice rose a few panicked octaves. _Oh, Quiznak._ This was very, very bad. He was going to get killed for sure.

“Come on. Get up.” Lance gently shook Keith’s shoulders.

“What?” Keith replied groggily.

“It’s morning. Wakey, wakey.” He let his hand hover over Keith, wondering if he would have to resort to shoving him off.

Keith groaned and fortunately started to wake up. He also really quickly realized their situation, eyes widening for a fraction of a second before he rolled off.

“What was that about?” Lance blurted out.

“I...I don’t want to talk about it,” Keith grumbled, crossing his arms.

“But…!”

“Just drop it.” Keith glared, leaving no room for arguments. Oh if he thought he was gonna to get out of it that easily… Lance was determined to get some answers, later… He needed some processing time too.

So he said nothing for the time being. They had more important things to worry about too, like finally getting that darn plant. After a quick meal, they set off to continue their trek. Lance was relieved when the monotony of the forest finally ended, leaving them planted near the edge of a small canyon.

“Ok. It’s supposed to be right around here?” Lance looked around, no plant in sight.

Keith approached the cliff, peering over the edge. “I found it.”

“Oh no…” He walked over, leaning forwards to confirm. Sitting inside a small nook were the distinct pink flowers; about nine feet straight down. “Do we have any rope?”

“No,” Keith replied.

“That’s...what I thought. So how do we get it?”

Keith hummed, doubling back to the forest and tugging on one of the tendrils. Oh that could work. Or...nope. It snapped, covering Keith in the green sticky substance. Lance laughed at seeing his disgusted face.

“It… won’t. Come. Off!” Keith shook his hands, trying to rid himself of it, but only served to spread it further.

“I guess you got a green thumb. And pinky, and index finger.” Lance chuckled.

Keith looked annoyed before smirking and start walking towards Lance. “W-what are you doing? Don’t you dare!”

He tried to avoid it and failed miserably. Keith wiped his hands on Lance’s armor, smearing the substance there too. “Gross!”

“It’s still on me too,” he said, like that made it any better.

“Yeah thanks. So is this your master plan for getting the plant?”

“I could lower you.”

“Oh no no! Why can’t I do it?”

Keith raised an eyebrow. “That’s not possible.”

Which, despite the rudeness, he knew he wasn’t strong enough, but continued anyway “Oh I get it. It’s because you’re too short to reach it.”

“By like an inch,” Keith snapped back “Do you have any other ideas?”

He did not. There were no visible footholds, so climbing down was a no go, and even if they had the lions the gap was too narrow. And so that’s how he found himself with Keith’s hands clasped around his ankles, slowly being lowered face first down the cliff. He let out an unconscious whimper. It would be fine, it would be fine.

“You better not drop me!”

“I won’t drop you, just tell me which way,” Keith gritted out.

Lance grumbled but soon brightened “I see it! A little to the left.”

His body swayed closer towards the bright pink buds, stretching his fingers out towards them...almost… He reached further, fingertips brushing the petals. Right before he could grasp it, he took a sickening plunge downwards--shooting right past the plant “Keith!” he yelled once he came to a stop. His heart hammered loudly. Oh he was going to say something...as soon as he was back on solid ground.

“Sorry.” Keith sounded a bit winded, but his hold felt firm. “How far?”

“A little to the right now, like a teeny tiny baby step. And up.”

Again the world swayed, and again the plant came into reach. Thankfully, there were no repeats; he gathered as much as he could “And...got it!” He held it out victoriously.

“Ok.” Keith replied, and little by little Lance rose higher. Till he finally got back to firm ground.

“What the heck.” He breathed, both of them panting heavily.

“You were heavier than I thought?” Keith answered.

“I’m never doing that again.”

At least they had the plant and could get off the darn planet. Just one more night to go. They arranged camp as they had done before, planning to reach the lions tomorrow. They settled on the leaves.

“Soo...same arrangement as last night?” Lance spoke up.

“Yeah.”

“Uh...not that I mind it, but should I expect the same thing again?”

“What?”

“You were wrapped around me like a koala.”

“...No… I mean you weren’t bothered?”

“Well I honestly wouldn’t of guessed it from you, but I like cuddles. So, yeah, I don’t mind.” At home, he would usually have one of his nieces or nephews, or even sometimes his siblings. It was relaxing to curl up with someone and nap, and the loss had been one of the hardest things to adjust to since joining the Garrison.

“Yeah…” Keith sounded wistful.

“Wait. So you do like it?”

“It’s...nice.”

“Oh my gosh. Since when?” This was a huge revelation.

“I don’t know. Always?” he said with a frustrated edge.

“What as in, this whole time?” Lance gaped.

“That tends to be what people mean when they say always.” Keith crossed his arms.

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

Keith shifted, leaning away, “What good would that do?”

_Was he serious?_ “Because you’ve been missing out! We all thought you just didn’t like being touched or something, or you were too cool for it. I give pretty good hugs, if I do say so myself, but Hunk hugs! They’re like being put in the warmest, comfiest burrito blanket. ”

Keith gave a disbelieving look, “And if I had said ‘Give me a hug’ one of you would have rushed right over?”

Lance opened his mouth and then shut it as the image came to mind. “When you put it like that…”

Keith huffed “See what I mean.”

“Hey! Let me finish. Yeah, we would,” he spoke with more confidence “once we got over the shock value. Besides, if you say you need it, it must be serious.” He grinned, trying to lighten the mood.

“...” Keith replied with silence. Lance could see the mental battle play out across his face. There was still a lot of doubt, mixed with hope, only to finally settle into a frown. He was bothered? Why!? Lance couldn’t quite figure out what the problem was. Hugs were fair game now; he should be happy! Not look like someone had just told him he’d have to eat lemons for the rest of his life. So what was the… Oh--

“It would weird you out, wouldn’t it?”

Keith stared before stating “I-”

“That’s it.” He interrupted, sure that he was on the right track. “You haven’t asked before and now you find it too odd. Geez you’re difficult.” He chuckled.

“I’m not difficult.” Keith wrinkled his nose.

Oh good, they were back to familiar territory. “Nope. You’re stubborn and that’s final.” He tapped his fingers while Keith crossed his arms. So if he wouldn’t do the direct approach… “Oh! How about a code?”

“A code? What?” Now the Red Paladin looked lost.

“You know. A word or a signal that means ‘hug me!’ without you having to be all awkward.”

“I know what a code is.” He huffed. “What are you suggesting?”

“Huhhhhh let’s see…” He rocked back and forth on his legs. That was a good question. It had to be something simple, he didn’t trust Keith with anything too complicated since the whole Voltron chant fail. “How about… Training?” he suggested, watching an eyebrow rise quizzically in response.

“That… How is that supposed to work?”

“Easy. ‘Lance do you want to go train?’”

“But you never want to do training.”

“Exactly!” He grinned at the brilliance “And hey, it’s not completely impossible, and I’ll know what you mean.”

“What if I want to have an actual training session?” He started to smile.

“Then I’ll just kick your butt and hug you afterwards. Gotta comfort you with my awesomeness.”

Keith actually laughed at that. “Yeah, sure.”

“So, can I?” He wiggled his fingers, causing Keith to chuckle again before nodding.  
  
Lance leaned in, slowly pulling Keith into a hug. There were a few moments of that tense awkwardness, and then they both relaxed. He even caught a hint of a smile on Keith’s face. It was then that Lance vowed to try and get the rest of the Paladins in on the hugging plan, once they got back to the castle. There wasn’t anyway Keith was going to keep missing out.


	2. Captured Loved one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bad things happen bingo "I have your loved one prompt." Keith and Hunk go on a mission, things turn bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello. Finally managed to finish a prompt for my bingo card. I had a bit of trouble writing the action scenes, but I hope they turned out well :D  
> Many thanks to [abverbialstarlight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/adverbialstarlight) for beta help.

Their mission: Find the rebels, get out, and do not engage.

The assignment didn’t amount to much more than that, and yet Keith kept replaying his own words. He didn’t like it. Even after pressing the alien leader for more details, there were too many unknowns; how many rebels were there, what weapons did they have access to, how they fought. None of those questions had received a clear answer. All he knew was that the locals were apparently having trouble with some of their own splitting off to join the Galra. This rebel group kept getting bolder with their attacks, increasing in both frequency and destructive power.

Voltron received the distress signal earlier today, and they couldn’t exactly turn down adding another planet to the coalition.

The one other fact they knew? The rebels had located their main base within an underground system of tunnels. Keith had decided to pair everyone off and send them to investigate different sections. In the event that anyone got lost, Coran stayed back at the castle to offer guidance.

He and Hunk were currently traveling down one of the many tunnels, having separated from the others around ten minutes ago. In that short amount of time, the Yellow Paladin already looked uneasy.

“Ugh, it’s so creepy down here,” he commented as he walked.

"It's just a cave."

Keith didn't find it concerning. To him the cave didn't look that different from the ones back on Earth. It contained large, open spaces with rocky outcroppings that jutted from both floor and ceiling. If anything, their surroundings were an annoyance at most--frequently blocking his vision. The ground was also slick, uneven, and narrowed unexpectedly at points. In short, a typical cave.

"I guess..." Hunk hesitantly agreed. He continued in silence for a few more steps then froze with a frantic look. "What was that!?"

"Nothing." Keith had spotted it earlier, the one unnatural factor. Shadows flickered frequently across the cave walls, darting in and out of view. He had to constantly remind himself that it wasn't an approaching enemy. They seemed to be an odd but ultimately harmless phenomenon--one that not even their armor lights could chase away. It still set him on edge. His hand twitched towards his bayard every time.

"Is it just me or is this place getting smaller?" Hunk asked.

"No," he replied. The path was narrowing noticeably as they walked along it, and did not seem to change further ahead. The ground continued in a gradual slope before becoming a steep, curving ramp. It got to the point where they were forced to walk in a cramped, single file; Keith taking the lead.

"I really think we should turn around soon. I'm feeling like a sardine..."

"Let's go a little more," Keith replied. It was too soon to be worrying, the path still left enough room to keep moving forward. They followed the walkway as it curled downwards in a steep spiral ramp. As he walked around the turn, a sword swung towards his head.

Keith barely raised his bayard in time to block. The two weapons clashed against each other before he managed to push the attacker backwards.

"Hunk! Cover me!" he shouted, slicing out.

"Oh! Right!" Hunk transformed his bayard and quickly realized they had a big problem. "I can't shoot!"

Keith silently cursed, though he continued fighting. Right. He barely had enough room to maneuver, backed up to the wall as he avoided another swipe. The two traded blows back and forth, each trying to lure the other into a false move and then strike at the opening. He pushed off and finally struck true, and the enemy collapsed.

"Great job, Keith!" Hunk cheered.

"Thanks." He caught his breath while Hunk approached. _Huh._ They were a few feet apart

now, he had moved around more than he thought he had. Then Hunk's face suddenly paled, and there wasn't time to think anymore.

"Uh...Keith." Hunk raised a trembling finger to point, but Keith had already turned around. He nearly groaned. The cavern spread out ahead--the narrow path had come to an end--and was steadily filling with dozens of Galra and Rebel fighters.

They were getting swarmed.

Keith tightened his grip. They were outnumbered, but so what? Staying back would be the safer option, but it could result in them getting trapped. From there they could easily be captured, or...worse. That decided it. With no further hesitation, he rushed into the midst of soldiers. At least this way they had a chance.

The attack started as soon as he got in range. It quickly blurred into a pattern of mass chaos. Hunk blasted the ground to keep the main force back while Keith sliced, dodged, sliced, and ducked away from their opponents. The enemies fell, but he couldn't be sure if they were dead or simply too injured to continue. He just had to keep going. Keith moved through the pattern again and again, barely aware when something grazed him and sent a weird tingling sensation along his arm. He ignored it, and raised his weapon, about to finish off another enemy.

A scream cut through the air. A very familiar one... _Hunk!_

Keith yelled and spun towards the sound, taking out a Galra unfortunate enough to be in the way. It was still too late. A Galra slowly pulled a odd, pronged weapon away from Hunk. Hunk, who pitched forwards and hit the ground with a hollow thud--unmoving. _Shit!_ Keith lashed out, blade returning to the fray. But the momentary distraction had cost him.

The rest of the fighters didn't waste the opportunity. Three latched onto him, grabbed his arms and legs and shoved him towards the ground. He was forced into a half-kneeling position--one leg firmly braced underneath. No way in hell was he going down like this. Firmly gritting his teeth, he pushed upwards and lifted the cling-ons in the process. They loosened their hold, enough for him to turn his arm and plunge the bayard forward with a wet, sickly sound. Someone screamed and the weight disappeared for a second, only to return in full force before he could get to his feet.

"Hold him still!" a Galra hissed, and the pressure increased. God, he couldn't move at all now…

Someone ripped Keith’s bayard from his grasp--it stung. Strong hands kept his feet and arms pinned. He pushed back, trying to pull out of the hold, until there was suddenly nothing to push against. With a dull shock, he realized he was being lifted.

"Subdue him!"

"Bring the stunner!"

"Hurry!" The torrent of commands was almost deafening. Keith began to thrash as a Rebel approached with the same weapon that took out Hunk. He was determined to make this as difficult for them as he possibly could. The group cursed and held on tighter. He glared at them, and in doing so he spotted a yellow blob in the distance--another group carrying the captured Paladin down a nearby tunnel.

"Hunk!" Keith shouted and redoubled his efforts, but he still couldn't get loose. The weapon was brought closer, electricity crackling between the prongs. He gritted his teeth in preparation.

The weapon fizzed against the armor, moving towards his skin. A sizzling crack abruptly brushed past him and slammed into the Rebel. _...What?_ The weapon crashed to the ground as the Rebel clutched its face.

"We got you buddy!"

A quick succession of shots followed, each hitting their mark; shoulders and hands, singed by the blasts. The group lost their hold on Keith, letting him fall. He caught his breath and scrambled to reclaim his bayard, reactivating it. The enemies started to fight, but were steadily pushed back by the rest of the Paladins entering the cavern, chasing off a majority of the force.

"Retreat!" a Galra commanded and fled with the others.

"Yeah we got them!" Lance cheered.

"No time for that, come on!" Keith shouted and rushed off.

"Keith! Wait, where's Hunk!?" Lance called after him and started running.

"They took him."

He ran through the cavernous space, dimly aware of his own pounding heart and the pounding footsteps of the others behind him.

They couldn't have gotten very far. Any moment and he would come across those bastards that had taken Hunk. The battle had to have only been a few minutes, even if it felt like longer. But why was it taking so long…

His eyes caught on some telltale scrapes on a wall and he ducked down the pathway. As long as he kept moving, he didn't have to think about if Hunk was hurt...or how badly. It would be fine. He had to be fine. Keith pushed himself to run a little faster, just a little more... That's when he abruptly came to a wall.

A solid sheet of rock rose in front of him, stopping him in his tracks. He couldn't believe it. He stretched a shaky hand out along the surface, as if the rock was some kind of trick. All he felt was cold, unmoving, stone.

"Hey...wait up."

Lance caught up, out of breath, the others lagging behind. Pidge groaned something about cursing her short legs. Keith didn't hear it, he spun around and raced off down the other path.

"Check for passages!" he snapped out, feeling the burning dregs of his own exhaustion pulling at him, but he pushed it down.

The next 20 minutes were spent scouring the cave, checking for any little nooks or crannies that the Rebels could have squeezed through. Even the right-hand path didn't escape their search, on the slim chance that Keith had seen incorrectly. He hadn't. They could find no further signs of Hunk, the Rebels, or the Galra.

It was like they had all vanished.

* * *

  
Keith was pissed. They had made it out of the underground cave system thanks to Coran. He was actually the sole reason that Keith hadn't been captured as well--alerting the others when Hunk's signal disappeared. Pidge was trying to work on a tracking system, but it would take time. Until then, Keith was determined to get answers the only way he knew how--interrogation.

"Where is he!?" He marched up to the leader--a alien that stood taller than him and vaguely looked like a relative of the Olkari, except for how she had yellowish skin and fuzzy fin flaps on the side of her head.

"I-I do not know. What are you talking about?" the leader sputtered.

Keith barely held himself back from reaching out and shaking her. "You know! You have to know."

"Keith!" Lance placed a hand on his shoulder. "Let her talk."

"Paladins, please, tell me what happened," the leader wrung her hands.

Allura stepped forward while Keith simmered, "We are all a bit upset, I apologize... The mission, it had some...unfortunate circumstances."

"It did not go well?" A head flap flicked curiously.

"No! They took Hunk," Keith spat.

The leader took a closer look at their group, seemingly just noticing the glaring empty space in their numbers.

"The yellow one is gone?" One flap raised upwards.

"Yes," Allura sighed. "Please, if you have any idea where they may have taken him, it would greatly benefit our rescue attempt."

"I-I am not sure. The Rebel forces have several bases, including the one you searched. But they have many more that we are unaware of."

Keith nodded. "Give us a list then. We'll search them all if we have to. Pidge, how is that tracking program coming?"

"Still working on it. Just give-"

Another alien rushed in, cutting her off "Leader! We have an incoming transmission from the Rebels."

"Good. Put them through."

Keith watched as she directed them to a view screen that flickered to life. It showed a shot of a masked Rebel.

"Greetings, Voltron," he spoke with a gravelly voice. "As you know, we have captured one of your Paladins. He remains unharmed, for now." The shot panned to show a brief view of Hunk. He had his hands tied behind his back and was unconscious, but he didn't look hurt.

"Hunk! We're here, buddy," Lance called and cut through to stand in front of the screen. He waved, but there was no response as the view panned back to the Rebel.

"It's a recording, he can't hear you," Pidge replied as she tapped away on her screen.

"Are you tracing this?" Keith asked as he watched.

"Duh. Give me a tick."

The recording continued to play, the speaker starting to voice a list of demands. "We wish for independence and assured a separate habitable area."

"Oh that's just typical movie villain cliche," Lance commented, "I bet they ask for Voltron next."

The Rebel listed other safety measures and more territory, but no Voltron. The leader's face still grew grim as the message came to an end. "If you wish to see your Paladin again, you will comply with our demands. We will give you one varga to decide and to begin proper arrangements. That time begins now."

"Did you  get that?" Keith asked.

"I said one tick! And--" Pidge hit a key. "Okay, got it. The broadcast seems to be a decoy. I found the signal coming from Hunk's armor, and the one just now. They’re coming from two completely different places. Probably using some type of proxy, or something. Pretty primitive actually. If you ask me-"

Keith motioned for her to wrap it up. "Where is he?"

"Oh," she adjusted her glasses and pointed upwards, "the moon."

The moon turned out to be one of the other bases that the leader had information on. It was fortified with thick walls, an advanced security system--both inside and out--and a number of sentries.

"I didn't think they would take him there... Or I had hoped not," the leader solemnly relayed.

"What can you tell us about it? We cannot leave him there," Allura noted.

"I have already told you what I know. It is dangerous to infiltrate--even more so than the tunnels--or we would have taken care of it ourselves."

"But we can," Keith stated.

Lance sputtered. "Woah wait! You aren't suggesting we just blast off and break in?"

"Yes?"

"We'll be spotted!"

"Not if we all ride in Green and use Pidge's cloaking to get in," he replied, and almost laughed at the way Lance's mouth dropped in a surprised 'O'. If the situation wasn't so serious, it would've been funny.

"Yeah. We should have plenty of time," Pidge commented.

Keith had learned.

* * *

  
Getting to the base didn't give them any trouble. Green landed smoothly on top of the roof and everyone disembarked. Pidge bent down by one of the floor panels and started hacking her way in, it opened with a hiss.

"Looks like it goes down all the way." She bent over the opening. "By my calculations, we should have enough time to get in, and get out. Grab that rope."

"Oh we get to be like ninjas! Or spies!" Lance replied, bringing the rope over and started to hum a familiar tune. Was that...the old 'Mission Impossible' theme?

"Lance, be quiet," Keith whispered harshly.

"I can't help it. It's stuck now." He tried to cut himself off, but only resumed humming it softer.

"Let's just go."

They started descending the rope, keeping on alert for sentries. To Keith's annoyance, the tune made its way into his head and he caught himself humming along more than once.

"I hear that," Lance called from someone above him.

"It's catchy," he pouted.

Pidge's voice came from below them. "Guys... Important rescue mission, remember?"

Keith shot a glare in Lance's general direction before replying. "Yeah."

The inside, when they reached it, was empty. It was spacious, with high vaulted ceilings and occasional columns that stretched through the area.

"What do your scanners show?" Keith glanced at Pidge.  
She pulled up a screen, tapping at it. "About 20 feet to the right, forward until coming to a corner."

"Everyone, stay on guard." Keith followed the directions.

 

Trying to disable traps and defeat guards before an alarm was triggered took some doing, but they managed. Keith and Lance took turns spotting when one was about to set one off. Allura also had a knack for taking out the guards, using the long whip of her bayard to seal their movements. Through this, they arrived at their destination.

It was a large vaulted door with no bars or windows, simply a solid sheet of metal with a keypad off to the side. Pidge dragged Keith over by the arm to place his hand on the scanner while she attempted to crack the code. The pad beeped and the door unlocked.

"Stay alert." Keith reclaimed his arm and started to edge the door open with his sword.

"Take this Galra scum!" Hunk came barreling out of the room and threw himself at the nearest person, Keith. Keith had time to deactivate his weapon before Hunk body slammed him, knocking all the air out of his lungs. They both landed in a groaning heap on the floor.

Allura was the first to react, untying Hunk and _lifting_ him into a standing position, while Lance got assigned to help Keith.

"H-hey, Keith," he sounded like he was two seconds away from bursting into laughter. "You ok?"

"Ow...yeah..."

"Keith?" Hunk blinked. "Oh man! Oh I'm so glad you're okay."  
"Me? You're the one that got captured," he replied, dazed.

"Yeah, but I'm alright. Least, I think I am?" He made a show of patting himself down, knowing that he wouldn't find anything, but if it helped to show the others that he was unharmed. "And you were surrounded by all those scary dudes, and I couldn't see what was happening. Then I got knocked out and woke up here. I had no clue what they did to you. Like if you got captured, or injured, or-"

"Hunk! I'm fine."

"Yeah, you should be more concerned about how you almost turned him into a Keith pancake." Lance lost it, breaking down in a fit of chuckles.

Keith pouted. "I'm fine."

"Oh man!" Hunk fretted, late realization setting in. "I'm so, so sorry."

"Don't worry about it." Keith held up a hand, but that didn't stop Hunk from coming over and giving him a death-gripping hug.

"I'm really, sorry." The hold tightened, Keith feared he heard his ribs make a cracking noise.

"H-Hunk!" He was aware of the other's entertainment at his predicament "We're all okay! Let's...save the apologies for later? We still have to get out of here."

"O-Okay..." Thankfully his grip loosened and Keith could breathe again.

"Relax. I'm not detecting any other lifeforms," Pidge smirked.

Allura cleared her throat. "Nevertheless, Keith is right. We should refrain from celebrating until we have returned to the lions and are safely back in the castle," she said in an amused tone.

With that, they gathered up and left to make their return to the castle. The group, even Keith, got dragged into a full group hug. They could worry about the Galra and the Rebels later. For now, everyone was happy to be safe and together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Note:**

>   
>  Accepting other prompt ideas :D Either comment before or message me on [My Tumblr: Silvia-moon](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/silvia-moon)  
> Please no ship requests, other than Klance.


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